Electricity Networks Strategy Group

The Electricity Networks Strategy Group (ENSG) says it provides

a high level forum which brings together key stakeholders in electricity networks that work together to support government in meeting the long-term energy challenges of tackling climate change and ensuring secure, clean and affordable energy.

ENSG is chaired by Ofgem (which regulates the electricity and gas markets in the UK) and the UK government's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). It is made up of energy companies and government departments relating to energy networks. The stated aim is to 'support government in meeting the long-term energy challenges of tackling climate change and ensuring secure, clean and affordable energy.'

It was formed in 2003, and reformed in 2008.

History

The group was formed by the DTI (now BERR)and Ofgem. This is a description of the setting up of the ENSG, taken from its first Annual Report in 2005:

The ENSG is a third generation industry group. In 2000, in response to concerns that there were barriers to the development of generation connected to distribution systems, the DTI and Ofgem established the Embedded Generation Working Group (EGWG). The EGWG brought together the main distributed generation (DG) stakeholders. It reported in January 2001. One of its main recommendations was that Ofgem and the DTI should establish a group to address the barriers to DG that it had identified. This led to the formation of the Distributed Generation Co-ordinating Group (DGCG), in November 2001...

The DGCG’s work progressed against a background of new challenges for networks. Growth of renewable generation in Scotland and the prospect of large renewable generation plants (in particular offshore windfarms) posed new challenges for transmission operators. Initially a Transmission Issues Working Group (TIWG) made a start on this work. However, in the second half of 2004 the DTI decided that the work of these two groups should be brought together under a higher level group to which both would report... The ENSG’s establishment was the result...The case for establishing the ENSG is that both the transmission and distribution networks are fundamental enablers for the development of the low-carbon generation base sought by the Government.

Views

There have been two high profile reports:

• A Smart Grid Routemap

Here is ENSG's definition of a smart grid:

A Smart Grid as part of an electricity power system can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it - generators, consumers and those that do both - in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies.

The ENSG lists the following as smart grid group members:

AEA | Association of Electricity Producers | CE Electric UK | Centrica Energy | DECC | EDF Energy Networks | Electricity North West Limited | Energy Networks Association | Energy Research Partnership | Energy Retail Association | E.ON Central Networks | Energy Technologies Institute | Intellect | National Grid | Ofgem | Renewable Energy Association | RLtec | RWE Npower | Scottish & Southern Energy | Scottish Executive | Scottish Power | Centre for Sustainable Electricity and Distributed Generation | Smarter Grid Solutions | The Carbon Trust | Western Power Distribution

• A Vision for 2020

The ENSG principal argument is that in order to generate more energy from renewable sources, there needs to be a sharp increase in investment in order to increase the capacity of the electricity grid. The estimate cost of this is £4.7 billion. The government has ruled out funding this and so it appears likely that energy companies will pass on the cost to consumers, which has caused some concern (as is reported in an article for The Guardian):

The National Grid, which runs the transmission system in England and Wales and will pay for the bulk of the programme in the first instance, said it was government's role to provide the right framework of policies rather than pay directly for it. "We can recover the costs in the same way that we do all our other investments," said a Grid spokesman, who admitted it could need to spend as much as £9bn overall on changes to the network.

The Grid would bill utilities such as Centrica, EDF and E.ON, which generate the electricity and then supply it to customers using the Grid's network. These companies can be expected in turn to pass on the extra costs to the householder.

Chris Stubbs, director at environment consultancy WSP, said the £4.7bn bill highlighted the "worryingly high cost" of embracing new energy generation and that the consumer or taxpayer would end up paying.

"It is important to consider that offshore wind is particularly expensive when compared with onshore wind, as the laying of underwater cabling is costly, as is the building of the turbines," he added.

Although the report has been welcomed by almost all in the energy industry, there has also been some concern voiced that the new capacity is not needed:

Goran Strbac of Imperial College London, said: 'We still need to see whether all of (ENSG's proposals) are actually required.' Professor Strbac is director of the government-funded Centre for Sustainable Electricity and Distributed Generation. 'Our work suggests that the existing system could potentially take much more than what the present thinking is,' he said.

The Beauly-Denny transmission line, which has recently been approved by the Scottish Government, has been seen as essential by the ENSG:

The proposed Beauly-Denny rebuild is an important step in developing a transmission system in the North of Scotland of sufficient capacity to accommodate renewable development proposals. With this upgrade in place, further reinforcement of the North of Scotland transmission system can be achieved by the strengthening of other elements of the existing system.

People

2006 Members

In 2006 the members of the old ENSG were:

• Claire Durkin Department for Trade and Industry (Chair) Director, Energy Markets
• David Gray Ofgem (Chair) Managing Director, Networks
• Jim Cambell Department for Trade and Industry (New Chair)
• John Scott Ofgem Technical Director
• Simon Cocks NGET Commercial Director,Transmission.
• Jim Sutherland Scottish Power Regulation and Asset Director
• Colin Hood Scottish and Southern Chief Operating Officer
• Phil Jones CE Electric UK President and Chief Operating Officer
• Paul Cuttill OBE EDF Energy Chief Operating Officer, Networks
• Nic Rigby RWE Npower Head of Strategy and Regulation
• Tony White MBE Climate Change Capital Director of Research
• Malcolm Kennedy Formerly PB Power Former Chairman of PB Power
• Wilson Malone (to September 2006) Scottish Executive Head of Energy and Telecommunications
• Ron Loveland Welsh Assembly Director, Energy Wales

2008 Members

In 2008 the reconstituted members of the ENSG were:

• Jonathan Brearley Joint Chair. BERR - Director, Energy Strategy & Futures
• Stuart Cook Joint Chair. Ofgem - Senior Partner, Transmission and Governance
• Nick Winser National Grid
• Mark Mathieson Board Member – Scottish and Southern Energy (Scottish Hydro Transmission Ltd)
• Jim Sutherland Scottish Power Transmission
• Barry Hatton EDF
• Phil Jones CE Electric UK President and Chief Operating Officer
• John Crackett E.ON Managing Director
• David Love British Energy Head of Regulation
• Kevin Akhurst RWE Npower Executive Director
• Douglas Wright Renewable Energy Systems Managing Director – Wind Energy
• Sarwjit Sambhi Centrica Energy
• David Hodgkinson AMEC Wind Energy. Managing Director
• Robert Longden Renewable Energy Association/ British Wind Energy Association/ Scottish Renewables Forum Trade Association nominated representative to ENSG
• Jane Morgan Scottish Executive Head of Energy & Telecommunications
• Ron Loveland Welsh Assembly Head of Sustainable Energy & Industry
• Department for Communities & Local Government To be confirmed
• Neil Witney Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)Head of Sustainable Development Unit
• John Overton BERR Deputy Director, Grid Renewables Deployment Team

• Steve Smith former Joint Chair OfgemManaging Director of Networks (at the time he was Joint Chair of ENSG)

Publications, Contact, Resources and Notes

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